Contributed by Miss Michelle E. Sussmann
This month Third Graders Making a Difference culminated their yearlong work of helping others by holding the annual used book sale. This is a much-loved tradition that has taken place for over ten years. The whole Lower School helped by donating gently used books, which the third-graders sorted, organized and displayed in preparation for the sale. The whole Lower School was invited to purchase books priced very reasonably, children were able to purchase many books to add to their personal collections, and best of all we raised over $1,500.
So what will the third graders do with all that money? They will donate it to charity. Third graders will have the opportunity to present about a charity that’s close to their hearts, and the grade will then vote for the charity where they would like the money donated.
$1,500 is a lot of money, so in order to help make this decision we called in an expert – Allison Jaffin, mother of third graders, Georgia and Jane Unger. Ms. Jaffin’s job is working for a philanthropic organization, and in her position she helps make decisions about where to donate large amounts of money. She presented information about the factors she considers when making these important decisions. Children received great insight into what to consider and what questions to ask in order to make their important upcoming decision of where to give the $1,500 they raised. When asked about Ms. Jaffin’s visit, one third grader said, “I thought that how she chooses the charities was interesting. There’s millions of charities. I asked her what she does when she gets down to the last two…how she chooses. She said if it comes down to two that are really good, if I had to choose I would choose the one that looked more fun and creative.” The students learned a lot and will now make a better informed decision. It has been an exciting and rewarding year for the Third Graders Making a Difference.